On Monday, the Jio World Centre in Mumbai hosted the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023’s first auction. 448 cricket players in total were put up for auction, 269 of whom were Indian and 179 overseas plyers (19 of those players were from the Associate Nations).
When Kerala’s budding cricketer Minnu Mani discovered that major stars were going unsold during the telecast of the first Women’s Premier League (WPL) auction, her optimism started to wane.
When well-known athletes are being passed over, she thought to herself, “Who is going to buy me?”
She therefore had a great shock when more than one franchise expressed interest in her and ultimately she was picked by Delhi Capitals ultimately picked for 30 Lakh which is 20 lakh more than her base price.
Capitals bag Minnu Mani for INR 30 lakh, RCB outbid Mumbai to get Kanika Ahuja for INR 35 lakh #WPLAuctionhttps://t.co/58aRGIGqU5
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 13, 2023
While playing for South Zone in the Senior Women’s Inter-Zonal One-Day competition in Hyderabad, Minnu spoke with Sportstar on the phone. “It’s a lot of money, but it’s the recognition that matters,” she said. Despite having hopes of being a part of the WPL, I was so close to giving up during the auction’s early stages.
A stellar #WPLAuction for the #CapitalsUniverse 💙💪
Here's a look back at our top 5⃣ buys 🔥#YehHaiNayiDilli #WPL2023 pic.twitter.com/Zrup5rwoWt
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) February 15, 2023
Going into the auction, the 23-year-old off-spinning all-rounder was in good shape. She assisted South Zone in defeating West Zone in Hyderabad on Sunday by making an unblemished 74.
She is a tribal girl from the Wayanad area of Kerala and comes from humble background.. She is the only State player to be selected for the inaugural edition of WPL.
After getting acquired by Delhi Capitals for INR 30 lakhs, she said that she hasn’t seen 30 lakh rupees in her life before.
She also stressed about the difficult times she has experienced while commuting for stadium where she daily changes four buses to reach at her stadium.
The #CapitalsUniverse is also super excited to see you hitting deliveries into Wonderland 🫶
See you 🔜, Alice#YehHaiNayiDilli #WPL2023 | @AliceCapsey pic.twitter.com/2cNaPeZcnX
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) February 15, 2023
While speaking up about her desires she said that ‘usually people have a desire to buy a home for themselves after earning such big amount but i want to buy a scooty first of all So that I don’t have to change 4 buses while travelling.’
Other than this Minnu stated ‘Even though I am unhappy that other Kerala players were unable to attend, but I am glad that at least one of us is there.” “And I’m happy to be joining celebrities like Shafali Verma and Jemimah Rodrigues, who I’ve already worked with.’
